What the Bible says about light and seed

The True Light "In him, (the Lord Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world,…the world didn’t recognize him." John 1:4,9.

The Good Seed and the Weeds “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seeds in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.”Matthew 13:24,25.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Move of God or Movements of Men . . . Connecting the Dots

Throughout my life, I
have seen God work in many supernatural and natural ways. God is a God
of wonders, and there are many times I wonder at the things He does to
help me connect the dots in order so I can understand the times.

Someone once said that
connecting dots in order to make a meaningful drawing or picture is
easy. All one has to do is use a pencil or pen to join one number to
another. Now, while this may sound easy, in the confusing world we
presently live in, connecting dots is not so simple.

My calling has been to
connect dots in order to help believers, and unbelievers, understand
what the Bible has to say about the times in which we live. The Bible
helps us to understand the past, the present, and the future and is of
paramount importance as it is given to us by the inspiration of God for
our benefit. For example, we read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

All scripture is given
by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Now, for the point of
this commentary. First, let me start with John 6. This is the story of
where Jesus miraculously multiplied fish and bread to feed the multitude
that had come to hear him preach. Afterward, the men whom he fed said,
“This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world” (vs.
14). The chapter goes on:

When Jesus therefore
perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a
king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. (vs 15)

Later in the chapter, it explains that the multitude found him
and began questioning him as to where he had gone. But rather than
answering their question, He brought to their attention the motives of
their hearts:

Jesus answered them and
said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the
miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. (vs.
26)

Jesus had used the
miracle of the loaves and fishes to show them that He was God. But they
didn’t see that—in essence, they only saw how they benefited from what
He had done. They missed the entire point of what God was trying to show
them and do in their lives.

Similarly, this happens
today in so-called movements of God. It may even be that God has
begun to move, but so often man takes over, sees how he can gain from
such a move, and now it becomes a movement of man rather than a move of
God.

For instance, during the
’60s and ’70s, the “Jesus Movement” was occurring, and thousands of young
people (many of them hippies) were coming to the Lord.

I don’t doubt that many
of these were true conversions, but I have always wondered if what
started out as a move of God in thousands of young people’s
hearts across the globe became more of a movement of man where the
precedence became more about following men (and sometimes women) than
following Jesus Christ. Before you get upset and write me off, please
hold your fire and take a moment to check out Scripture. Following
anyone or anything other than following the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ
is always a mistake.

John the Baptist is a
perfect example of someone who was a part of a move of God and
determined to keep it that way. Jesus said of him: “Among those that are
born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but
he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28).
John the Baptist performed no miracles and healed no one and never drew
attention to himself, but many came to hear him preach repentance as he
prepared the way for the Messiah. Then when Jesus arrived, he pointed
them to the Christ and not himself. His words were, “. . . this my joy
therefore is fulfilled. He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease .
. . he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he
that cometh from heaven is above all” (John 3:29b-31). John would not
allow his charisma to get in the way of what God was doing, and what
started as a move of God remained a move of God.

Biblical history and
man’s history are full of examples that show what takes place when men
follow men. They may think they are following God when often they are
not. Satan is a very clever deceiver as he can act as an angel of light.
He is also like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour. Christians,
if they knew better, would stay out of his way. Unfortunately, so many
sleeping undiscerning Christians are misled by false teachers and
prophets who masquerade in sheep’s clothing and drive the sheep to the
market, which actually can be the pit of hell.

As you can see, this
topic I am dealing with today is multi-faceted and may seem a bit
confusing. Rather than covering all the bases, we will continue to
examine the topic of the Jesus Movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s for now and
come back to the question of whether a move is of God or of man later.

First of all, I want to
point out that during that time period of the Jesus Movement, there were
young people turning to Jesus from all over the globe. A high percentage
of these youth were hippies. But while many of these young people were
involved with Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel movement, there were also
youth completely unrelated to Calvary Chapel who were being converted.
Knowing this tells me that there was a move of God taking place that was
affecting untold numbers of young people far and wide.

In this commentary,
however, I want to focus on what took place in Southern California that
became known as The Jesus Movement. In actuality, there was a move of
God throughout the earth touching the lives of many young people. And
part of that spawned the Jesus Movement of Southern California,
attributed to being started by Calvary Chapel. I hope you can see the
distinction. This is not to say that the move of God did not influence
the Jesus Movement.

If you know anything
about the Southern California Jesus Movement, the name Lonnie Frisbee
will be very familiar to you. In order to develop this topic properly in
this commentary, it would take a book full of documentation. For now,
based on what has been written, I believe you will be able to connect
your own dots and formulate an opinion. In case you still don’t follow
me, let me give you a clue and ask you one question.

Lonnie Frisbee was a
hippie in the ‘60s who was converted to Christianity in 1967. He had
been living in the
Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. From there, he ended up in
Southern California and ultimately met Chuck Smith (founding pastor of
Calvary Chapel). Pastor Chuck invited Frisbee to be part of that group
and help reach out to the hippies who were on the beaches in S.
California. Frisbee’s presence at the church drew thousands of young
people to Chuck Smith’s church. Few would argue that Frisbee had a
strong influence in and largely symbolized the Southern California Jesus
Movement.

But by 1971, Frisbee and Smith had parted ways, yet Frisbee’s influence
and “charisma” had made its mark on Calvary Chapel. Many of today’s
Calvary Chapel pastors were brought to Christianity via Lonnie Frisbee.
Much of Lonnie’s emphasis had become centered around the “baptism of the
Holy Spirit” and supernatural experiences; people like Katherine Kuhlman
and John Wimber (of the Vineyard movement) were enamored with the young
converted hippie, who would later die in 1993 at the age of 44 from
AIDS.

It is clear that from
the earliest years of Calvary Chapel’s history, men were placed in
positions of high honor and respect, and put in situations where they
would be followed by masses of people. Lonnie was the first one, but
many others would follow. While I know there are Calvary Chapel pastors
in the history of the Calvary Chapel movement that have put God’s Word
first and have not allowed themselves to be followed but pointed their
students and congregations to the Scriptures and to Jesus Christ, it is
clear that others have not followed down that same path and became part
of movements of men veering from a move of God.

How can we know if
something is not a move of God? In today’s church, there are two
significant signs that can be looked at to answer this question. They
are summed up in these two words: The Pope and Kundalini. The Pope is
providing not only the road to Rome but also the road to a
one-world religious body that will eventually include all faiths except
biblical faith. Kundalini represents what 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 describes
as another spirit, another gospel, and another Jesus. Sometimes all
three can be convoluted and intertwined in such a fashion that it is
very difficult to discern the times.

With those two signs in
mind, we must ask, where is the evangelical church (and many Calvary
Chapels) presently heading? It is clearer today than ever before—into
the arms of Rome and ultimately an ecumenical global religion; and this
will occur through a pseudo spirit (i.e., the false god of this world’s
kundalini spirit). What I am saying is not crazy, and it is easy to
plainly observe. Pay attention! When you hear that something is of the
Holy Spirit and when you hear that God’s “Presence” is in a move, ask
yourself, is this really the Holy Spirit of God, and is this really His
presence, or could this be another spirit, another gospel, and another
Jesus?

Even though Lonnie
Frisbee has been dead for many years, we must ask some hard questions:
Why was Lonnie Frisbee buried in the former Schuller Crystal Cathedral
Mausoleum? What about the Paul Crouch family burial site that was
located in that same location but is no longer there today? Why was the
name of this location changed from Crystal Cathedral to Christ Cathedral
and taken over by new management with headquarters in Rome?

Stay with me. More
information will help connect additional dots in the future. There is a
method, using the Bible, that will clear up the picture. Let me leave
you with this. John the Baptist was a forerunner preparing the way for
Jesus Christ. The Bible says that as we approach the end of the age,
there are two “Christs” coming: one, Jesus Christ, our Lord who has
promised to return; and two, the Anti-Christ described in the Book of
Revelation. Each has forerunners preparing the way for his coming.
Today, there are many forerunners for the Anti-Christ, some even within
the church (wolves); in contrast, there are some preparing the way for
the return of Jesus Christ. You must ask yourself—which ones are you
listening to?

A Christmas Reflection from the Light Seed

This is a Christmas message that I repost every year because of its timelessness. I hope that it will bless you and that the seeds of love, truth, hope and joy planted in your heart by the Lord will flourish as Aaron´s almond rod of authority and service and nourish the hungry and thirsty around us.

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2012 Microsoft Translator from English

Copyright. Droits d'Auteurs. Rediffusion. Direitos Autorais

I claim no right as an author. I didn't create the mind, my brain, my hands, nor any of my senses through which I perceive the world around me. Therefore, I invite anybody if you see any benefit or blessing in the posts, to print, reproduce or distribute the contents of this blog I wrote personally. Jesus said: "Freely you have received, freely give". John the Baptist said: "One can receive only what has been given him from above". I would suggest you ask for spiritual discernment with checking in the Word of God what is right, true, noble, pure, lovely, beneficial as coming from God. I am just offering and sharing free of any restrictions the things that I deem worthy of passing on to any one willing to spend a little time and walk with me along life's highway so we can learn and grow together. Give thanks to and Praise God for the wonderful things he has done.

The Joshua Tree - An original parable/allegory by this blogger.

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God (Genesis 21:33). Here is old Abraham just planting a tree and living by his well. Why are we told this? It is symbolic of what is taking place in his heart and life. The tree immediately brings to mind Psalm 1, which says the man of God will be like a tree planted by rivers of living water, bringing forth its fruit in season. Here is a life that is fruitful, that is concerned about those immediately around and is pouring out blessing into their lives and hearts. Excerpts from Ray Stedman´s devotion: "This Thirsty World" https://www.raystedman.org/daily-devotions/genesis-12to25/this-thirsty-world

Original Love Poems by this Blogger

Excellent Free Bible Software

Now you can download an excellent Bible software on your PC and/or your USB flash drive. It contains easy to navigate and efficient interface, free add-ons modules, Bibles in English, foreign languages, Dictionaries, Commentaries, everything you need to help you study the Bible.

Testimony/Sermon of an Abortion Survivor

SUICIDE WATCH

I am sure most of you have known at some time in your life a person who wanted or attempted to end their life or succeeded in doing so. Personally, I have known a number of such people. I, myself had such an episode as an adolescent.

More and more I am reading and hearing about people young, old, male, female, gender and age don´t matter that add their lives to this problem of epidemic proportion in our society. Whatever the cause, we can all do something however small to save lives.

No need to have a psych. degree or to be licensed. An understanding heart, a listening ear is sometimes all that it takes to help weaker, more sensitive people overcome the hopelessness that drives fellow human beings to discard the gift of human life.

Please, take a few minutes to read below the few examples and testimonies about suicide. And please pass it on, if that´s all you feel inclined to do. Thank you.

HE INVITES SUICIDE JUMPERS FOR A CUP OF TEA

Don Ritchie moved to a house outside Sydney, Australia, for the clifftop view. But soon he was stopping suicides by inviting potential jumpers inside for a cup of tea.

Don Ritchie has been awarded a medal for bravery and an Order of Australia (the nation’s second highest honor) for averting hundreds of would-be suicides by approaching people and offering them a cup of tea. ‘I used to sell kitchen scales and bacon cutters,’ he says. Now, ‘I’m trying to sell people life.’